Opinion: Legislation would roll back Florida's advancing higher ed system

Florida is fortunate to have state leaders who are eager to build upon the successes of our high-performing college system. System-wide enhancements that impact all 28 Florida colleges must be a collaboration between our legislators and the higher education professionals to assure that good intentions such as those proposed in Senate Bill 540 do not result in unintended consequences. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

After a year marked by campus confrontations between white nationalists and anti-fascist extremists, university administrators are preparing for a combative and potentially violent 2018 by beefing up security and examining the boundaries of their own commitment to free speech. [Source: Politico]

Applications are surging at the University of Florida and other flagships. Here’s how they handle it.

Prominent public universities nationwide are swamped every year with more and more applications, making the job of admissions teams ever more difficult. How universities screen all those applicants varies from state to state. At the universities of Florida, Maryland, Virginia and others, the process is known as "holistic review." [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Federal government to issue $769,000 to Florida college students for Irma relief

Roughly 90 Florida post-secondary institutions will receive a combined total of $768,884 in federal funding to assist students affected by Hurricane Irma. The dollars will be distributed through the Federal Work-Study program, which provides part-time jobs to low-income students to help them fund their education. [Source: Naples Daily News]

› Lake County trying to attract teachers with education degrees[Daily Commercial] For years, a significant drop in enrollment at colleges of education across the county foretold of a teacher shortage. But even as the shortages continue to concern the Florida Department of Education and were a major topic at the recent State Board of Education meeting held at Lake-Sumter State College, how the shortages are actually borne out are not tracked.

› One young woman’s journey to college[Sarasota Herald-Tribune] She had applied to 13 colleges, as of late December, ranging from in-state options like Florida Southern College, where she's already been accepted, to Amherst College, her top choice. Although the admissions process can stretch from September to late April, Lillee Izadi has already had her first heartbreak.